The season finale of The White Lotus is all anyone can talk about this week, which is why we’re taking a look at when the show’s creator, Mike White, spoke about casting global popstar from the famed K-pop group BLACKPINK, La Lisa. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, White confessed that he did not initially know who La Lisa Manodbal was. The admission came as a surprise, given Lisa’s immense popularity worldwide, especially in the K-pop community but it turns out that when Lisa first auditioned for a role in The White Lotus, White had very little knowledge of the star.
Lisa who played a side character Mook in the show, shared her experience of how she landed the role: “I’ve been performing [in BLACKPINK] for a long time, and this opportunity came right when I was trying to find a new challenge. They sent over the script, and I sent a tape back.” White, on the other hand, was initially hesitant. He explained,“I did not know who Lisa or BLACKPINK was. All I knew was that there was a BLACKPINK girl [her bandmate, Jennie Kim] in The Idol, and I was like, ‘We’re not doing that.’ Then I found out that there might be security issues, and I was just like, ‘No.’ They were like, ‘She’ll audition.’”
Despite his reservations, the team decided to meet with Lisa in Phuket, where she impressed them with her dedication and humility. “We had her come meet us in Phuket at a secret location, and at that point, we’d already met with actresses in Bangkok and had someone we were really interested in. But Lisa was so humble and she’d worked so hard on her performance. This was someone fighting for this part,” said White Lotus producer, Bernard.
Lisa herself recalled the nerves she felt leading up to the audition: “Before I flew to Thailand, I did some acting lessons. I was so nervous. I brought my mom.” As for White, he was ultimately won over by her performance. “Her audition was amazing. And Lisa’s so nice and uncomplicated, but I still didn’t want to cast her. I’m just used to not having so much attention; we don’t need it. But I wanted to be respectful to Thailand. She’s like Taylor Swift meets Princess Diana there.”
Tayme Thapthimthong, who plays Gaitok in the series, further elaborated on the atmosphere during filming: “With the rest of the cast, even if they didn’t know her music personally, they definitely knew of Lisa or someone who’s absolutely crazy about her. So when they’d meet her, there was a lot of, ‘Heeeey, how are you?’” Despite his initial reluctance, White ultimately came to appreciate Lisa’s significance. “She’s more than just a pop star, I just didn’t get it initially. When we cast her, there were people in the production that cried. And anything she does is scrutinised, so it’s a nice part. It’s not like she’s a tramp running around sleeping with married men. We got our fill of that.”
Netizens react
Naturally, these revelations and White’s blatant hesitation in casting Lisa stirred strong reactions among fans, many of whom were already questioning whether she was cast due to her immense popularity in Thailand rather than her acting ability.
One netizen expressed: “Obviously, she’s gorgeous and I’m happy she’s successful, but so far she has added nothing to The White Lotus for me personally. Maybe that’ll change in the finale.” Another commenter shared their frustration saying, “Her being on that magazine with hugely famous actresses, randomly in The White Lotus and also the random Grammy performance. I’ve never seen a person being pushed this much. It all seems too gimmicky to me just because of her K-pop fame. Especially when her company didn’t soft launch her way into Western spaces—they just shoehorned her in.” Other fans took a more critical stance on her role in the show, commenting: “You’re entitled to your opinion, but to me it feels like she’s mostly just window dressing / stunt casting. She just seems like a static supporting character to Gaitok’s storyline without any character development or real sense of personality. And to be clear, I don’t think this is Lisa’s fault, the role is just not written very interestingly.”
The White Lotus Season 3
The third season of The White Lotus, an American satirical comedy-drama anthology television series created, written, and directed by White, continues to captivate audiences with its sharp storytelling. Set at a wellness resort in Thailand, the season explores the lives of both the staff and the wealthy guests, mixing tension, intrigue, and humour. Critics have generally praised the season, but the finale has been a divisive moment for fans. As for Lisa, only time will tell if the starlet from BLACKPINK proves her acting chops or remains a polarising figure in the latest chapter of The White Lotus.
